The Ugandan kob (Kobus kob thomasi), male,Queen Elizabeth NP, Uganda, 2016.
The Ugandan kob is a subspecies of the kob, a type of antelope. Only the males have horns, which are lyre-shaped, strongly ridged and divergent.
Males are slightly larger than females, being 90 to 100 cm (3.0 to 3.3 ft) at the shoulder, with an average weight of 94 kg (207 lb), while females are 82 to 92 cm (2.7 to 3.0 ft) at the shoulder and on average weigh about 63 kg (139 lb). Apart from the throat patch, muzzle, eye-ring and inner ear, which are white, the coat is golden to reddish-brown, the color differentiating it from other kob subspecies. The belly and inside of the legs are white, and the front of the forelegs are black.
It is typically found in open or wooded savanna, within a reasonable distance of water, and it also occurs in grasslands near rivers and lakes.
Ugandan kobs are herbivores and feed largely on grasses and reeds.
The females and young males form loose groups of varying size which range according to food availability, often moving along watercourses and grazing in valley bottoms. Sometimes non-breeding males form their own groups. Ugandan kobs usually have a lek mating system, in which males defend small territories clustered on traditional mating grounds. Females visit these leks only to breed, and males provide no parental care. Each lek is associated with a female herd of about 100 individuals. Females begin to mate at the age of one, but males must normally wait for several more years. A single calf is born in November or December, after a gestation period of about nine months.
Ugandan kob appears on the coat of arms of Uganda. #Godfreytheguide #Uganda #Animals #Antelope.
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Great news to read that the House of Lords is to back the ban on trophy hunting imports into the UK (Saturday Mirror June 17th).
What planet is Crossbencher Lord St John of Bletso on?, who in his ignorance supports the bill, and comments “ Evidence shows properly regulated wild trophy hunting does play an important role in wildlife conservation”.
Certainly not in Zimbabwe M’Lord! – as a former Chief Inspector for the Zimbabwe National Soc. For the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ZNSPCA), I saw first hand how funding that was supposed to be given to the local communities where hunts took place, was rarely received by them.
Instead due to rampant corruption, it was the Town Councillors who were seen driving around in 4x4s and Mercedes, while the local villagers got nothing, except possibly some meat from the hunts.
In addition, some of the trophy hunters who visit Zimbabwe are also guilty of unethical practices, such as using donkeys and goats as live bait.
In addition, there are still several trophy hunters who are using packs of imported hounds to hunt Zimbabwean leopards which was illegal under Zimbabwe’s Wild Life Act.
I know because I was responsible for getting an Amendment to the Act making it illegal for hunters to use packs of dogs - only for the USA’s notorious Safari Club International to swiftly “persuade” the Zimbabwean Govt to make hunting with dogs “legal” again.
This practice is disliked by many professional hunters, who say that “the leopard does not stand a chance”, one Zimbabwean hunter who did use dogs for his clients, when questioned in an interview as to whether this method was ethical? - replied “it may be cruel”
Pro Trophy Hunting activists should be aware that several hunting safaris in Zimbabwe still offer this practice to their rich overseas clients, who pay extra if packs of dogs are used.
However, if a local Zimbabwean living in the rural areas, is caught hunting with his own indigenous dogs to catch rabbits and small animals to feed his family – the Zimbabwean Government’s Police shoot his dogs, he is arrested, taken to court and fined, with the possibility of being jailed if he has no money for the fine, which is more often the case............talk about double standards.
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May I suggest that Lord St John of Bletso gets his facts right – trophy hunting is not the cosy “regulated “ pastime he seems to think it is?
Meryl Harrison
Late October and early November see the last of the wildebeest river crossings before the herds begin to move to the edge of the short-grass plains in southern Serengeti for the unparalleled spectacle that is their birthing season. As the wildebeest empty out, so do the people, and these three months in the Mara before the festive season mark a spectacular time to roam and explore without the distraction of other vehicles and the millions-strong herds. The rest of the game comes to the fore, as does the cultural element in Serengeti South: the Hadzabe make for fascinating walking companions as they reveal their homeland to you on foot. This time of year yields itself to long lazy stays, with some adventure fly camping and safaris on foot thrown into the mix. http://interiorsafarisea.com/category/tanzania-safaris/
www.interiorsafarisea.com Did you know that Between 2014 and 2020, trophies of 5,409 animals of internationally protected species were imported into Germany, including 194 leopards, 208 brown bears, 166 hippos 229 elephants, 138 lions, nine polar bears and two black rhinos. Many of these animals were killed because of the hunts sold at hunting fairs.
As from 24th-29 January,2023 Europe’s largest hunting fair has been taking place in Dortmund, Germany. Over 80 national and international exhibitors from Canada, Argentina, Namibia, South Africa, Germany, Spain, Poland and others, are in attendance, offering trophy hunting trips, that cost between a few hundred and tens of thousands of euros, around the world to kill elephants, big cats, rhinos, polar bears and numerous other iconic species.
Trophy hunting is a form of entertainment rooted in wealth and pageantry that results in both severe cases of animal harm and far reaching damaging biological and ecological impacts. Yet, more than 120,000 animals are killed in Africa each year by big game hunters. The European Union is the second largest importer of hunting trophies from internationally protected species, behind the United States. Germany is by far the greatest importer within the European Union.
